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Road Running & Cross Country, 2010 reports by Alan Mead unless otherwise credited Fullers Pub to Pub 5 miles, Horndean, 27 December 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 25:03. Coventry parkrun 5k, 27 December 2010. Men. 1 S Hopkins (Kenilworth) 17:21; 14 P Chapman 21:47. Black Park parkrun 5k, 27 December 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:26. Bushy parkrun 5k, 25 December 2010. Men. 1 S Renfer 15:51; 2 R Ward 16:26; 27 R Stannard 19:20. Saltwood Castle Run, Nr Hythe, 26 December 2010. Women. 1 G Nicholls (Tonb) 18:13; 3 M Heaton 22:26. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 18 December 2010. Men. 1 M Gray (?) 18:33; 34 P Chapman 21:30. Milton Keynes parkrun 5k, 18 December 2010. Men. 1 S Ferguson (Radley) 18:01; 11 R Harding M40 20:58. 7th SPAR European Cross Country Champs., Albufeira, Portugal, 12 December 2010. Senior Men. 9870m. 1 S Lebid (Ukraine) 29:15; 57 D Mulhare (Ireland) 31:35. U23 Men. 8170m. 1 H Chahdi (France) 24:11; 16 M Mulhare (Ireland) 24:53; 25 N Goolab (GB&NI) 25:04. Hog's Back 8.2 miles, Guildford, 12 December 2010. Men. 1 P Wicks 39:21. Andy Reading 10k, Chesterton, 12 December 2010. Men. 1 J Blackledge 32:04; 18 L Eguia 36:09; 22 M Trees M45 36:27. Women. 1 S Amend 36:09; 6 R Trees 40:37. Finsbury Park parkrun 5k, 11 December 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:58. Richmond Park parkrun 5k, 11 December 2010. Women. 1 E Robinson (Ful-On) 18:26; 3 S Gailey 19:22. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 11 December 2010. Men. 1 A Clare (Woodford GwEL) 17:07; 46 D Anderson M55 22:39. Oxford University v Cambridge University, Wimbledon Common, 4 December 2010. Men 7.5 miles. 1 A Heyes (Oxf) 39:32; 2 S Lindner (Camb/Belg) 39:43. Old Blues 4 miles. 1 B Moreau (Oxf) 21:00; 3 J Kelly (Camb/Belg) 21:17. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 4 December 2010. Men. 1 unknown 17:44; 54 D Anderson M55 26:05. South of the Thames CCA 5 miles Team Race, Wimbledon Common, 27 November 2010. It was pleasing to see 11 Belgravians tackling this 5 miles team race over our own course on the Common. With the men's and women's races being held in conjunction it made for a healthy 200 plus field that kept our small band of marshals and officials busy. A blast from the past was provided by Chris Sweeney who has recently rejoined. The last time we saw him in action in a Belgrave vest he won the individual Surrey Cross Country title ... and of course many moons ago he won the National Junior Cross Country Championship whilst a member of Tipton Harriers ... now a couple of years into veteran status he was still able to lead our team home and we hope to see him in a few more of our teams before too long. Now, can we get a good team out for the South of Thames Championship race over 12k in a few weeks time? Men. 1 J Gilbert (Kent) 26:50; 2 C Busailah (Herne H) 27:39; 3 H Evans (Tonbridge) 28:00; 10 C Sweeney M40 28:44; 17 W Cockerell 29:06; 19 L Eguia 29:21; 48 P Bogues 30:47 57 R Norville 31:22; 65 B Barton M40 31:53; 84 W Lynch M40 33:08; 92 A Luce M45 33:37;94 T Thorn 33:37; 98 P Carstairs M50 33:58; 99 W Ireson 34:07; ... 150 finished. Teams (4 to score): 1 Herne Hill H 32; 2 Kent AC 40; 3 Bracknell AC 63; 5 Belgrave H 94; 18 Belgrave H 'B' 298; ... 29 teams closed in. Teams (8 to score): 1 Herne Hill H 139; 2 Kent AC 186; 3 Tonbridge AC 389; 4 Belgrave H 392; ... 8 teams closed in. McCains Liverpool Cross Challenge & European Trials, Sefton Park, 27 November 2010. Men. 1 A Vernon (Aldershot F&D) 28:45; 14 N Goolab 29:25; 39 M Pollard 30:36; 101 G Hyett 32:16; 164 J Fairbourn 35:08. South Manchester parkrun 5k, 27 November 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:56. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 27 November 2010. Men. 1 P Martelletti (Victoria PH&TH) 15:38; 4 S Ryan 17:47; 86 D Anderson M55 23:51. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 27 November 2010. Men. 1 M Corcoran 17:08; 2 R Stannard 17:19. Serpentine Runners Last Friday 5k, Hyde Park, 26 November 2010. Men. 1 J Shane (Newham &EB) 14:59; 2 R Ward 15:02. Rugged Radnage Cross Country, 21 November 2010. Men. 2 M Whiting 40:29. Women. 1 S Amend (5th overall) 42:20. 2XU Surrey Men's CC League Division 1, Match 2, Denbies Vineyard, Dorking, 13 November 2010. Worst Surrey League result in 15 years! In spite of Paskar Owor battling away at the front of the field, the Belgrave men's squad sank to their worst team place in the last decade and a half - last! There's absolutely no blame to be placed on the shoulders of the 16 men who lined up - they certainly did their best - but with a heavy loading of M40s and M50s in the ten they were up against it in this always high quality competition. Frank Tickner, guesting before his run out in the trials a few weeks hence, was off and away from the start while Paskar Owor, a little short on running recently due to his studies, slugged it out with the other locals. In fact Paskar led the scoring race out on the second lap but on the downhill sections towards the end, lost his position to Bruce-Littlewood while managing to hold off Mike Coleman (South London). Men. 1 F Tickner (Wells City gst) 24:21; 2 A Bruce-Littlewood (Herc Wimb) 25:07; 3 P Owor 25:16; 32 L Eguia 27:45; 45 K Hegvold M45 28:28; 46 B Hurley 28:30; 75 M Webb M45 29:38; 102 B Barton M40 31:01; 112 F Ward M50 31:18; 114 P Carstairs M50 31:23; 117 A Luce M45 31:30; 122 W Ireson 32:10; 129 W Lynch M40 32:32; 133 E Smith 32:42; 134 T Thorn 32:41; 140 T O'Neil M55 33:06; 172 S Anderson M50 37:08; 179 H Corbett M50 38:28; ... 188 finished. Teams:
1 Herne Hill H (4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 32) 153 - 1st overall
with 318 Under 17/Under 15/Under 13. 1 M Yemane (Herne H U15) 14:04; 2 J Clark (E&E U17) 14:08; 3 R Hanson (Herne H U15) 14:23; 18 Y Tesfaye U15 17:01; 29 A Fekade U17 17:49; 46 N Afework U15 23:06. U17/U15 Teams: 1 Herne H 55; 2 South London H 65; 3 Epsom &E 78; 4 Dorking &MV 109; 5 Belgrave H 111.; 6 Reigate Priory 137. Surrey Women's Cross Country League Division 1, Denbies Vineyard, Dorking, 13 November 2010. Things looking better in the Women's League A monster field included a stronger Belgrave women's team that improved on a 15th team place in the opening match to 9th here at Denbies Vineyard. Overall we moved up to 16th in the league but the points situation is a lot more healthy now and another push in match three after Christmas should see the Belles clear of the threat of relegation. This time it was Sam Amend's turn to lead the team home and it was great to see Catherine Bryson back in action again. Another good run came from Vicki Goodwin, up 22 places in spite of the larger field and this time getting the better of Tilly Heaton. Senior Women. 1 J Bleasdale (Thames H&H) 20:48; 2 G Bruinvels (South London H) 21:32; 3 L McAlister (Thames H&H) 21:52; 13 (17 in combined race) S Amend 23:43; 24 (28) C Bryson 24:45; 55 (70) V Goodwin 26:15; 70 (90) M Heaton 26:48; 79 (112) S Murphy 27:23; 106 (158) E Hooper 29:00; 139 (219) A Johnson 30:46; ... 372 finished in the combined division 1 and 2 race. Teams: 1 Thames H&H 51; 2 South London H 69; 3 Reigate Priory 126; 9 Belgrave H 241; ... 38 teams closed in. After two matches: 1 South London H 140; 2 Thames H&H 152; 3 Herne Hill H 258; 16 Belgrave H 709. ING New York Marathon, 7 November 2010. Men. 1 G Gebremariam (Ethiopia) 2:08:14; 68 J Chaston M40 2:33:48. Marlow Half Marathon, 7 November 2010. Men. 1 E O'Gorman (Chiltern) 1:14:12; 380 D McMillan M60 1:48:51. Women. 1 S Amend 1:23:46. Lancaster Half Marathon, 7 November 2010. Women. 5 L Blizzard (1st W35) 1:28:09. Ronhill Surrey Classic 10k, Nonsuch Park, 7 November 2010. Men. 1 S Renfer (unatt) 33:23; 5 M Webb M40 35:46. ECCA National CC 4 x 5k Relay, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, 6 November 2010.
National medals just beyond reach again Always good for an exciting afternoon's racing, the ECCA Relays did not disappoint. A final slot in the top half dozen was the Belgrave expectation, achieved as it happens; but it might have been considerably better if that always threatening Berry Hill spanner hadn't been lobbed into the Belgrave works again. Many clubs can turn out four good'uns and the race is always that much more unpredictable as a result. For Bedford & County to come away with a third successive win says a lot for their dependability. Nick Goolab took charge of stage one again and he was neatly placed in the top ten after 1 kilometre, moving into the top half dozen at the halfway point - 2.5k. Norwich, New Marske, Notts, ... all sorts were having a tilt at stealing away from the crowd, but Nick had the lot covered and as next man Sharpy anxiously shouted at the Team Manager, "What position is he?" as he jostled for a good spot on the take-off line, the TM, with a better view up the course, was able to hold up a single digit. What a start! Rocketing around the lake and into the woods, Stephen was definitely moving away. Were we going to have a dream run? But looks can be deceptive, and it wasn't so much the speed of the Belgrave man, as the slipping back of the second placed runner in New Marske's colours. Before long Tipton, Birchfield, Blackheath, Notts, the Beagles and others were squeezing past our man ... who was in trouble. The dream had become a nightmare. "I just didn't seem to have anything in the tank," was his bewildered utterance when his 5k stint was at last mercifully over. Amazingly he had run some 15 seconds slower than last year when he got trampled on at the start! Setting about reclaiming some of that lost ground Simon Jones worked hard to pull back Tipton, Enfield and the Beagles while Mark Draper for Bedford was on his way to fastest of the day to put his team into an unassailable lead. Notts AC were impressing to move into second place ahead of Blackheath and City of Norwich, while right to the line Jonesy was fighting on, moving ahead of Morpeth with AFD and Birchfield only just out of reach - nice run! Locked together as the final stage unfolded, Paskar Owor and Morpeth's Nick McCormick swept up Birchfield, City of Norwich and Aldershot with, surprisingly, the man from the north-east sitting just behind our man as they slugged it out for fourth place ... until the final run in was approached ... and the Morpeth afterburners were ignited. So, just out of the medals once more but, in a way, a pleasing result. Not at full strength, things going awry ... and we're still in there fighting. The course record (59:36) remains ours and the potential for a claret and gold clad team to go under the hour again is still there. Late news: Sharpy goes down with a cold! It happens to us all. Men. 1 Bedford &CAC 1:00:58.65; 2 Blackheath H 1:01:39.85; 3 Notts AC 1:01:44:40; 4 Morpeth H 1:02:10.85; 5 Belgrave H 1:02:19.95; 6 Tipton H 1:02:45.75; ... 163 started, 140 finished. Belgrave: N Goolab (1) 15:04.75; S Sharp (12) 16:12.80; S Jones (7) 15:33.15; P Owor (5) 15:29.25. Fastest: 1 M Draper (Bedford &CAC) 14:58.25; 2 F Tickner (Wells C) 15:01.25; 3 S Overall (Blackheath H&B) 15:01.65; 4 N Goolab 15:04.75; 5 R Stevenson (New Marske) 15:05.20; 6 A Harrell (City of Norwich) 15:08.00. Burgos, Spain, 6 November 2010. Men. 1 T Medhin (Eritrea) 24:33; 22 D Mulhare (Ireland) 26:18; 24 M Mulhare (Ireland) 26:32. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 6 November 2010. Men. 1 K Hegvold M45 16:58; 15 E Smith 20:02; 72 D Anderson M55 23:14. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 6 November 2010. Men. 1 A Penfold (Sutton &D) 18:10; 2 R Norville 18:12. Grovelands parkrun 5k, 6 November 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:52. Ronhill Surrey Classic 10k, Oxshott, 31 October 2010. Men. 1 A Hawkins (Epsom &E) 35:38; 7 M Webb M40 36:19. Athens Classic Marathon, 31 October 2010. Men. 1 R Bett Kimutai (Kenya) 2:12:40; W Cockerell 2:59:40. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 30 October 2010. Men. 1 unknown runner 16:41; 3 S Ryan 17:43. Lloyd Park parkrun 5k, 30 October 2010. Men. 1 R Norville 18:48. Noosa Bolt 5k, New South Wales, Australia, 30 October 2010. Men. 1 C Birmingham 14:08; 4 R Dessaix-Chin 14:26. BUPA Great South Run 10 miles, 24 October 2010. Men. 1 J Ebuya (Kenya) 45:16; 53 K Gadd 59:45. Heaton Park parkrun 5k, 23 October 2010. Men. 1 P Freary M40 16:40. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 23 October 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:35. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 23 October 2010. Men. 1 unknown runner 17:23; 3 S Ryan 17:41. Burnie 10k, Tasmania, Australia, 17 October 2010. Men. 1 L Adams 29:35; 2 R Dessaix-Chin 30:08. Wimbledon Audi 10k, 17 October 2010. Men. 1 J Pena Holguin (Italy) 32:41; 3 K Hegvold M45 35:29. Blenheim 10k, Woodstock, 17 October 2010. Men. 1 P Richardson (Charnwood) 30:44; 2 J Blackledge 32:06. ING Amsterdam Marathon, 17 October 2010. Men. 1 G Feleke (Ethiopia) 2:05:44; 37 W Cockerell 2:30:04. Women. 1 A Timbilil (Kenya) 2:25:03; 11 S Amend 2:42:51 ERRA National Men's 6-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, 16 October 2010. Somewhere over the rainbow ...The race might not have gone our way but for those who turned up without strong club loyalties it was one of the best in years. The result was in doubt ‘til the end. Our boys wore a black ribbon in memory of key supporter Pat Mead while the Newham boys sportingly carried a claret ribbon in similar vein – they weren’t going to do us any favours but should they cross the line in first place then they would share a little of the glory with us; a nice touch. Thanks to injury problems Captain Phil Wicks was reduced to “supporter” for the day while “come-backers” James Kelly and Neil Speaight, both short on fitness, ran the course all afternoon to gee the boys up; nice to have them there. G-o-o-l-a-b Somehow a promised five minute delay to the start was reduced to less than two minutes as runners were still jostling for their “rightful” places on the start line and an official standing in front of the 83 first-stagers was overwhelmed by the surge precipitated by the early gun. Way back in about 30th place as they charged down the slope was Nick Goolab – but already putting in some powerful running as he eased his way into the top fifteen as the field entered the first loop and then top six or seven as they came out of it again. It was all, “Johnny Mellor of Liverpool,” according to the announcer but when the motorbike hove into view it was Scotland’s Shettlestone Harriers' blue and yellow colours at the head of the field, worn by Tewelde, chased hard by Whitby (Windsor), Gardener (Derby) … and G-o-o-l-a-b in fourth stripping a quarter of a minute from his previous best. With confidence a little dented by a cold, ‘Sharpy’ was below his best with a first ever clocking outside 18 minutes. But the net loss was only a single place as Swansea and Bedford came through and Windsor drifted back. Ominously a whole posse poured through the takeover area on Sharpy’s tail including Aldershot just three seconds down. Shettlestone were already 17 seconds clear of second place and 48 seconds up on the Bels. The Scottish club pushed on again to the halfway point, their lead stretching to 41 seconds, but it was all change behind as Jonny Hay took our local rivals Aldershot into second place, chased by Kent AC, Tipton (through Ryan McLeod’s fastest of the day) and Cardiff. Normally a cert for a mid to high 17 minute run, Steve Davies had also marginally gone over 18 minutes and we were now in 9th. This wasn’t going our way. Dan our fastest On leg four Shettlestone suddenly looked vulnerable as their lead shrank to just three seconds and Bedford’s Mark Draper all but took his club into the lead. Most onlookers were now favouring the Southern club. Our own ace Dan Mulhare clocked the Bels fastest of the day – 17:20 – to home in on the medals in an official fifth, although he was right alongside our conquerors from Rushmoor Arena – Aldershot. And just when it seemed Bedford would sweep into the lead it was now Tipton making a forward run thanks to Phil Nicholls. The whippets were ahead and it looked as if the clock had been turned back a decade – were they going to pull it off? Cold rain blasted the takeover area while a glorious rainbow promised a crock of gold medals to any one of half a dozen teams still in the hunt. But it began to look as if it wouldn’t be the Bels and that we might struggle to get a medal of any kind as a disappointed Simon Jones found AFD getting away from him … and Altrincham’s Andy Norman bringing Altrincham up as well. We were in sixth with one to go. Paskar on a charge At last Bedford’s solid squad could not be denied any longer. Tipton dropped away, Shettlestone too had run out of master-blasters … and the Bels had Paskar Owor on a charge. Could he get us into the hardware? Altrincham were disposed of and then he set about Aldershot’s Paul Rogers, taking back 17 seconds and squeezing into fourth. It was Tipton under pressure now as the gap to the frame narrowed all the way up the finishing straight … but the line came 100 metres too early for the Bels who had to be content with the cruellest spot of fourth, just five seconds behind bronze medals and eight seconds behind silver. Even winners Bedford & County were only 42 seconds up the road - a great run for them as they got their hands on the trophy for the first time. 1 Bedford &CAC 1:45:42; 2 Shettleston 1:46:16; 3 Tipton H 1:46:19; 4 Belgrave H 1:46:24; 5 Aldershot F&D 1:46:28; 6 Newham & EB 1:46:58; … 83 teams started and 79 teams finished. Belgrave: N Goolab (team position 4, stage ranking 4) 17:21; S Sharp (5, 27) 18:05; S Davies (9, 12) 18:01; D Mulhare (5, 3) 17:20; S Jones (6, 7) 18:02; P Owor (4, 4) 17:35. Fastest: 1 R McLeod (TiptonH) 17:03; =2 M Draper (Bedford &CAC) and T Humphries (Cannock &S) 17:04; 4 S Overall (Blackheath &B) 17:05; 5 A Ford (Sale H) 17:08; 6 T Tewelde (Shettlestone) 17:10. ERRA National Women's 4-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, 16 October 2010. Belles hanging in there Back in the team under a new name Louise Blizzard set the ball rolling for the Belles, running a time that compared well with her previous outings over the course. For Aldershot, Emily Wicks sent the eventual winners on their way to glory with 6th place. New member Amy Linford nicked six places with our fastest run of the day on stage two before handing on to Tilly Heaton who gained another five spots. The forward momentum was maintained by Vicki Goodwin, bravely running after losing her Mum just a week earlier. 1 Aldershot F&D 58:14; 2 Charnwood AC 58:50; 3 Bristol & West AC 1:00:15; 4 Shaftesbury BH 1:00:15; 5 Chester-le-Street &D 1:00:35; 6 Windsor SE&H 1:01:42; ... 42 Belgrave H 1:09:52; 85 teams started and 69 finished. Belgrave: L Blizzard (team position 54, stage ranking 54) 17:12; A Linford (48, 39) 16:55; M Heaton (43, 42) 17:46; V Goodwin (42, 47) 17:59. Fastest: C Purdue (Aldershot F&D) 13:55; G Steel (Charnwood) 14:08; 3 E Pallant (Aldershot F&D) 14:20; 4 A Woodvine (Chester -le-Street) 14:27; 5 A Hutchinson (Cardiff) 14:29; 6 S Morris (Windsor SE&H) 14:35. Heaton Park parkrun 5k, 16 October 2010. Men. 1 A Buttery (Rossendale) 16:25; 2 P Freary M40 16:42. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 16 October 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:38. Henley Half Marathon, 10 October 2010. Belgrave Hon. Treasurer Dave McMillan ran his 144th 'half' in his best time for years. Men. 1 B Reynolds (Thames H&H) 1:15:15; 281 D McMillan M60 1:43:54. 2XU Surrey Cross Country League Division 1, Match 1, Wimbledon Common, 9 October 2010. A poignant moment - and a familiar script It was a poignant moment before the start when the 170 plus runners stood silently in memory of Patricia Mead who has very often recorded them all home in Belgrave hosted matches - and doubly so when the silence was ended by spontaneous applause. But soon the charge was on and one could see straight away that the race was following it's normal script with Belgrave offering an individual win, although unable to capitalise on it, while Thames and Herne Hill Harriers slugged it out to their tenth man. After one lap Paskar was 30 metres clear of Priory's Paul Rodgers although the gap swiftly reduced to 20 metres as the Belgrave man set off in the direction of Wimbledon High Street instead of turning for a second lap. No harm done though, as frantic calls had him back en route, and he increased his lead by the end to nigh on half a minute. There's no doubt that Paskar is as fit as a butcher's dog right now! The Cockerpillar had a poor start but fought well to get through and the Nordic Wonder belied his 45+ years to place 24th. Running injured to a greater or lesser degree were Richard Stannard and Mike Trees - but we're so glad they made the effort - and it was great to see Phil Carstairs renewing his membership, back in action again and closing in the ten. Here's a thought - if we were to add up the combined ages of each team's runners and divide them into the points scored, we'd have a very good chance of winning! Where's all the young blood? Senior and U20 Men. 8k. 1 P Owor (Belgrave) 26:46; 2 P Rodgers (Reigate P) 27:14; 3 J Morwood (Herne H U20) 27:36; 11 W Cockerell 28:41; 24 K Hegvold M45 29:47; 39 M Byansi 30:19; 42 B Hurley 30:29; 45 R Stannard 30:42; 60 D Mason 31:22; 83 R Norville 32:54; 85 M Trees M45 33:09; 104 P Carstairs M50 33:56; 108 S Zealey M40 34:22; 109 T O'Neill M55 34:27; 115 E Smith 34:51; 116 A Luce M45 34:54; 119 W Ireson 35:03; 124 T Thorn 35:21; 129 F Ward M50 35:32; 164 H Corbett M50 40:21; 170 finished. Teams:
1 Herne Hill H (3, 5, 6, 12, 16, 17, 20, 26, 28, 32) 165 Under 17/Under 15/Under 13. 4k. 1 M Temane (Herne H U15) 14:35; 2 T Holden (South London U15) 15:04; 3 J Maurice (Herne H U17) 15:11; 15 T Trees (U15) 16:54; 28 C O'Connell (U15) 18:20; 29 Y Tesfaye (U15) 18:36; 41 N Afework (U15) 25:29; 43 finished. Under 17/Under 15 Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 28; 2 Hercules Wimbledon AC 39; 3 South London H 95; 4 Belgrave H 101; 5 Epsom & Ewell H 112. Surrey Women's Cross Country League Division 1, Match 1, Richmond Park (Kingston Gate), 9 October 2010. Belles struggle but hope for better things Sarah Gailey returned to the fold to lead our team home with a top 20 place but with a runner short of a full squad, the Belles were sure to struggle. A sterling effort came from Tilly Heaton - she was pulling back places over the second lap - and Vicky Goodwin bravely turned out after a close family bereavement the previous day. Finishing with a powerful sprint was Anoushka Johnson; she's been out of action for many years and although only just starting running again one can see that competitive spirit hasn't left her. Let's view this as a challenge and see how many places we can gain over the course of the season when we'll hopefully have much stronger turn-outs (as promised by everyone via email!). A top five team position is still possible. Senior Women. 1 F Clark (Reigate P) 24:35; 2 G Bruinvels (South London H) 24:42; 3 C Elms (Dulwich R Vet) 25:35; 14 (17 in combined race) S Gailey 27:16; 52 (66) T Heaton 29:43; 77 (105) V Goodwin 31:05; 139 (223) A Johnson (Vet) 36:02; 176 finished (326). Teams: 1 South London H 71; 2 Thames H&H 101; 3 Herne Hill H 104; 15 Belgrave H 468. Cambridge parkrun 5k, 9 October 2010. Men. 1 N Speaight 16:36. Greenwich parkrun 5k, 9 October 2010. Men. 1 J Martin (unatt). 18:50; 33 B Bridges M60 30:24. Grovelands parkrun 5k, 9 October 2010. Men. 1 A Macaulay (L Heathside) 17:50; 17 M Scammell M55 23:59. Geoff Moulden Wimbledon 10k, Wimbledon Park, 3 October 2010. Men. 1 R McLeod (Tipton) 31:10; 3 P Owor 31:31. Kingston & Polytechnic Club 5 miles, Chiswick, 2 October 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 27:37. Crystal Palace parkrun 5k, 2 October 2010. Women. 1 R Bentley 20:00; 24 A Onuora 23:50. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 2 October 2010. Men. 1 G Kennedy (unatt.) 17:08; 15 E Smith 19:27. Grovelands parkrun 5k, 2 October 2010. Men. 1 J Armstrong (M Chasers) 17:50; 16 M Scammell M55 23:42. Greenwich parkrun 5k, 2 October 2010. Men. 1 G Beerling (unatt.) 20:00; 20 B Bridges M60 29:04. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 2 October 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:51; 3 M Trees 17:11. AFD Road Relays inc. SEAA Men’s 6-Stage Championship, Rushmoor Arena, nr. Aldershot, 26 September 2010 Absorbing struggle at Mount Rushmoor Will Cockerell reports. Back to Rushmoor then, scene of so many Bels triumphs (six wins in the last 8 years) for this first major championship of the new term. Last year we scored a 2, 2, 2, 8 for the four road-relays, what would this season bring? Leg 1 and Sharpy was back in the team after having his sensational streak of road relays (35) so cruelly interrupted by the volcanic ash last spring. Steve nailed his 10th consecutive Southern 6-stage all but dead centre, but some lower back pain during the week found him struggling to let go on the descents, and on the steep drop a kilometre into the second lap, several runners flew past. But SS tucked in, and set up Wardy for his favourite game of Space Invaders. Fast forward seven minutes and 10th had become 4th as an always grimacing Wardy tried to keep the medallists in sight. This he did while having to bow to Ben Noad later on. Handing over to JB and it occurred that the top three in this team all made their relay debuts for Belgrave in 2001. We’re not stuck in the past though – they may once have been good runners, and they still bally-well are! Jon expertly did something about the Newham threat, and they’d never bother us again in this race, and also edged us ahead of a fine Highgate outfit. A flying James Connor floated by for Kent, but he was about to hand over to a pal who was 141 seconds slower. That’s relay running for you. Consistency is key. Right, no disrespect to the 2001 brigade, but perhaps the time had come to inject a little precocious and fearless youth into the fray, and none comes more so than ‘Nickyboy’. Only recently back into full training, this ferociously competitive athlete stormed to our fastest of the day thus far, and placed us into the medals. Surely Shaftesbury would come back, but Aldershot were now looking, alas, untouchable. Unless... Paskar Owor versus Paul Rodgers was an excellent match-up fresh from a similar tango at the Surreys. Our only chance was if ‘PO’ could somehow turn his 14 second advantage from the Surreys into a 40 second one here on the longer course, to at least give Dan a sighter of AFD’s last man. Rodgers went through the half in 8.59... and so did PO. We now needed a miracle. PO clawed a tenacious 4 seconds back in the second lap, but this meant 1:26 needed to be found by our master-blaster. The good news, if there was any, is that the last time Dan Mulhare and Jonny Hay clashed, at the National 12 Stage, Jonny ran 28:41, and Dan 26:14. A breath of hope perhaps? Hmm not really when 18-year-old Hay’s recent BMC 14:02 is taken as evidence, with a last lap of 56. Dan did all he could; feeling heavy with a head cold, he still blasted the day’s fastest and reclaimed 21 seconds but could do nothing about the other 65. Hats off to AFD which was a fantastic team, with all running within 25 seconds of each other and harks the mind back to our 2001 National 6 stage team who all ran within 23 seconds. But those two stats are duly bettered by AFD’s 6th placing B team who were all within 20 seconds. What exceptional depth in quality. As for our boys, nothing to be sorry for, everyone ran to scratch, and with our talisman Wicksy (unwell) on board, Hay’s mission would have been considerably more fraught. Our time would have won in eight of the last 11 years. Finally, a word for the Baby B’s, not at their strongest for this one, but special menche for Lander, Ben and Dave who ran well, and of whom much is expected, and required, over the coming six months. 1 Aldershot F&D AC 1:49:21; 2 Belgrave H 1:50:26; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:51:07; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:52:10; 5 Highgate Harriers 1:52:52; 6 Aldershot F&D AC ‘B’ 1:53:14; ... 50 Belgrave H ‘B’ 2:09:14; … 88 teams started; 62 finished. A – S Sharp (10) 18:24; R Ward (5) 18:56; J Blackledge (4) 18:39; N Goolab (3) 18:21; P Owor (2) 18:13; D Mulhare (2) 17:53. B – K Hegvold 20:57 (63) B Hurley (45) 20:19; D Mason (46) 20:52; L Eguia (39) 20:22; A Lang (54) 24:53; M Humphrey (50) 21:51. Fastest: 1 D Mulhare (Belgrave H) 17:53; 2 F Tickner (Wells City H) 17:59; 3 B Moreau (AFD)/D Mitchinson (NEB) 18:00 AFD Road Relays inc. SEAA Women's 4-Stage Championship, 25 September 2010. Belles battle into top 25 clubs at Rushmoor
What a fighting display by an extremely plucky quartet. A year ago the TM was feeling slightly despondent after 19 no’s and a maybe for this one, so this year’s 16 no’s and 4 yesses represents about an 800% improvement. And with girls to come in for the National, and several more on the comeback trail, things are looking positive for three weeks’ time, next spring, and beyond. First up to field 132 elbows flying at her face was Sam Amend, deep into marathon training, who was 30th after a minute, climbing to 20th at half-way, and a pleasing and clinical 14th by the end, which in reality was 10th as four teams ahead were one-hit-wonders out for a jolly. Excellent running and placing new recruit Amy Linford nicely into the frying pan. Now Amy was within a whisker of making the plane to the Sydney Olympics ten long years ago (that’d be for hockey, not running), before doing herself knee ligament damage. Her hockey days are behind her now, though she still keeps fit with football and her job as a personal trainer. She has also banged out a 3:25 marathon which I do believe is a world record for a runner dressed as, er, Morph. Here, Morph was going even quicker, and with grim determination Amy hung on for dear life managing to keep hold of that illustrious top-10 placing. What a find – a humungous signing, welcome to the club and I’m quite sure this is merely the beginning. Next up, the delightfully rechristened (due to the TM’s deplorable hand-writing), “Ricko” Trees. Ricko was in at the deep end, with angry runners buzzing and snarling all around. Rick hung in there very nicely considering she’s only back into tentative training after the birth of baby Amy in the summer. But her 16:20 shows she’s heading plum in the right direction, and she handed over in sweet 16. Last up Anoushka Johnson – or Anovshka – going by the results. I really need to acquire some penmanship if I’m to pursue this life. Valiant ‘Nush’ is not quite ready to be shouldering the harsh task of anchoring our A-teams in major championships, but without her we didn’t exist – so what can you do? She suffered from the go but never gave up, and thrilled the crowds as with 500 metres left to go, our arch rivals at Thames drew level. Noooooo! Anything but falling to the Saltire. Some choice words in Nush’s ear did the trick and she dug deep to win that particular war and give us a final placing of 30th, and 23rd best club on the day, out of 61 starters. The team spirit was superb and it was great to see the girls bond together immediately like glue. This is only the 4th time in our history that we’ve completed a team at this excellent meet, but we’ll certainly be back. 1 Aldershot, Farnham & Dist AC 50:21; 2 Arena 80 AC 54:27; 3 Serpentine RC 54:59; … 30 Belgrave H 1:13:16; 61 teams started, 47 teams finished. Belgrave: S Amend (10) 13:46; A Linford (10) 14:45; R Trees (16) 16:20; A Johnson (30) 18:25. Fastest: S Twell (Aldershot F&D AC) 11:58; 2 C Purdue (Aldershot F&D AC) 12:18; 3 E Pallant (Aldershot F&D AC) 12:37. George Cummings Relays, Houston, Strathclyde, 25 September 2010. Men's 4x2.7 miles. 2 Inverclydeinc. G Hyett 13:28, M Pollard 13:09. Fastest D Hawkins (Kilbarchan) 12:23. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 25 September 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:42. Greenwich parkrun 5k, 25 September 2010. Men. 1 J McKevitt (unatt.) 18:27; 18 B Bridges M60 29:39. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 25 September 2010. Men. 1 J Savage (Aldershot F&D) 16:23; 14 P Chapman 19:45. BUPA Great North Run, Newcastle to South Shields, 19 September 2010. Men. 1 H Gebrsellassie 59:33; 10 P Wicks 1:04:09. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 18 September 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 15:59. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 18 September 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:07; 14 M Trees M45 18:02. Finsbury Park parkrun 5k, 18 September 2010. Men. 1 P Smith (Wilmslow) 17:45; 32 M Scamell M55 24:01. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 18 September 2010. Men. 1 A Robinson (Thames H&H) 16:57; 13 P Chapman 19:23; 14 E Smith 19:25. Surrey Road Relays, Wimbledon Park, 11 September 2010. Electrifying Curtain-Raiser Will Cockerell reports. What a super race this was, easily the finest of the 13 editions since the Surrey relays came to this testing loop around Wimbledon Park, which could have been man-made to ferret out the strengths and weaknesses of a runner. Yes, there have been some fine duels over the years, notably 1999 with Dave Taylor being let off the leash 31 seconds down on Roger Alsop, or Junior Galley and Simon Stevens going out within 40 yards of each other in 2002, or 2007 when Stuart Major valiantly tried to gun down Knut Hegvold. But those were battles waged between breakaway leaders; on this occasion no fewer than four clubs were all in the melting pot, neatly lined up, as the last stage arrived. With 343 times being chalked up, a 7% increase on last year, this race is becoming a firm favourite in the county calendar. The gun went and 78 teams fired off, bound for the long climb that awaited five minutes hence. Herne Hill Harriers were noted to have friskily played one of their 'aces' via Chris Busailah, who was chased home hard by Ranelagh's Phil Killingley and a guesting Shaftesbury's Tom Bedford. A minute back, a strong Dave Mason defied Knut Hegvold for 96% of the run before the Trondheim Stallion passed him on the track. We also had a brave Tilly Heaton off for the Belles who managed to get stung by the corner of her eye, just before the off. It takes more than that to fell this great club servant though, who reliably dipped under 20 minutes. Worlds ... were going to collide Stage 2 and Mal Byansi was tidy as ever with a solid 15:09 to keep us in the hunt and nibbling us three spots up the leaderboard to 5th, but the gap had widened to HHH as they played another 'ace' with Alan Barnes. They were front-loading, we were back-loading ... sooner or later these two worlds, separated by 91 seconds, were going to collide. Up next was wizard of the 'chase Matthew Morgan who while narrowly unable to match Mal's fireworks, still had an outing that oozed positive equity. The charge against Herne Hill was on, 14 seconds had been reclaimed, and another spot advanced. Now what could your correspondent do, who for most of the day had been scurrying around like Coco the Clown sorting out orders, filling out forms, refilling out forms, and generally doing everything but mentally preparing to run 2.88 miles at speeds rarely to be found in nature. 4th place at the beginning of the Cockerpillar's tour became ... 5th. What! This wasn’t in the script; this was a bad dream. It had now become some race though, as a closer inspection of the gaps showed that Belgrave, whilst having been impotent in their advance up the list, could at least see the gaps coming down. At the start of the stage 92 seconds separated Herne Hill, Thames, Belgrave and Hercules, and now only 34 seconds was the difference between best and worst. Outside that equation, in the "lead" were our stripey friends from north of the Thames, but they'd already shredded the rule book by running Bedford twice, and were about to implode to a final placing of fifth. Now, what could Wardy do, with his new, shiny, lightweight chassis? (He is under some bamboozling impression that he runs quicker when carrying less weight.) Rich had a double mission on his hands, to chase the other teams but also beat Will’s time in their annual duel for piquing the selectors' attentions for bigger battles to come. Well, Rich took one look at Will's time and gobbled it up with some Fava beans and a nice Chianti, and also grabbed the scalps of SBH, and then Thames right at the death. The squeeze was on even more, as there were now just 28 seconds between the top four clubs, with Hercules now leading thanks to Alex Robinson's 14:38 which was a spot-on match for his predecessor, the up-and-coming Liam White. Richard Xerri has been rattling around the Surrey scene for some 20 years now, and part of him would have relished the challenge of taking off in the lead on anchor with a 15 second cushion over HHH’s Dave Mulvee. Seven seconds back was the small matter of Paskar Owor, and he was followed five ticks later by former 13:55 man Stuart Major. Poor Richard – he was about to experience relay-running's equivalent of being hung, drawn and quartered. Down to fourth then for Hercules, but a fine effort from them, as they missed out on a medal by under 30 seconds. Up front, no-one was stopping Paskar who ripped out a 13:58 to catch Mulvee and place a 41 second buffer in the way. Major ran well but was unable to advance to silver. What a remarkable race then, with the final stage seeing 1st go to 4th, 4th to 3rd and 3rd to 1st, with 2nd holding firm in the turbulence all around. Belgrave’s record in the 13 years at Wimbledon now reads: DNF, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 7, 1. A win for the M40s In other club news, we also picked up the win for the M40s, as, in an exact replica of three years ago, anchor-man Knut left it till the final 200 metres to finally us into take the lead (albeit over a non-scoring Stragglers). Congrats to the other M40 Belgrave stalwarts, Steve Zealey, Gerry Adams and Warren Lynch. We were happy to welcome new members Alistair Lang and Will Ireson in the B’s, the former still feeling last weekend’s Cologne Ironman in his legs. And the last word to the Belles who placed a battling 13th, with Sarah Murphy now running for two, Tilly Heaton who went round twice in tribute, and new member Anoushka Johnson who has returned to competition after 10 years away from the sport. Welcome back. May I put Belgrave’s thanks on record to all the volunteers who put this day on. In particular, the marshalling was vocal and ubiquitous and the results service outstanding. Welcome to the 2010-11 season – more fare like this and we’re in for a treat. Senior Men. 1 Belgrave 1:30:02; 2 Herne Hill 1:30:43; 3 Thames H&H 1:31:00; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 1:31:29. A – K Hegvold M45 (8) 15:44; M Byansi (5) 15:09; M Morgan (4) 15:17; W Cockerell (5) 15:04; R Ward (3) 14:50; P Owor (1) 13:58. B – D Mason (10) 15:51; R Norville (13) 16:54; A Lang (21) 19:23; W Ireson (23) 18:27. C – P Chapman (38) 17:42; D McMillan (44) 21:03; R Harding (47) 20:41. Fastest: P Owor 13:58; P Rodgers (Reigate) 14:12; J McMullan (Thames H&H) 14:15. M40. 1 Belgrave 1:07:42; 2 South London 1:08:16; 3 Thames H and H 1:08:24. S Zealey (9) 17:46; G Adams (3) 17:12; W Lynch (2) 16:48; K Hegvold (1) 15:56. Fastest: A Robinson (Thames) 15:48; K Hegvold (Belgrave) 15:56; J Burdett (South London) 15:57. Senior Women. 1 South London 1:13:15; 2 Ranelagh 1:13:43; 3 Thames 1:14:00; 13 Belgrave 1:24:42. M Heaton (13) 19:53; S Murphy (9) 20:07; A Johnson (13) 23:59; M Heaton (13) 20:43.Fastest: G Bruivels (South London) 16:31; E Damant (Ranelagh) 16:47; K Ellison (Herne Hill) 17:27. Tilburg, The Netherlands, 5 September 2010. Men's 10 miles. 1 J Tanui (Kenya) 47:18; 5 P Wicks 48:31. Women's 10k. 1 M Melkamu (Ethiopia) 31:33; 21 S Amend 36:35. Bristol Half Marathon, 5 September 2010. Men. 1 E Kipyego 1:03:08; 32 W Cockerell 1:11:32. Old Deer Park parkrun 5k, 4 September 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:02. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 4 September 2010. Men. 1 B Wallace (Herne H) 16:56; 2 K Hegvold M45 16:58. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 4 September 2010. Men. 1 M Trees M45 16:25. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 4 September 2010. Men. 1 M Morgan 17:04. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 28 August 2010. Men. 1 unknown runner 15:47; 2 W Cockerell 16:04; 31 M Trees M45 19:11. Serpentine Last Friday 5k, Hyde Park, 27 August 2010. Men. 1 E Skagerberg (unatt) 18:29; 11 V Goodwin 21:09. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 21 August 2010. Men. 1 M Trees M45 16:50. Kingston parkrun 5k, 21 August 2010. Men. 1 A Barrie (Stragglers) 18:06; 3 P Chapman 18:24. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 14 August 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:05. Bearbrook 10k, Aylesbury, 8 August 2010. Women. 1 S Hignett (Bournemouth) 34:24; 2 S Amend 37:14. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 7 August 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:51. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 7 August 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:20. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 7 August 2010. Men. 1 D Symonds (Thames H&H) 17:22; 84 D Anderson M55 23:33. Leeds parkrun 5k, 7 August 2010. Men. 1 T Midgley (unatt) 16:58; 8 N Speaight 18:05. Self Transendence 2 miles, 2 August 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 10:01. 19th Berliner Vattenfall City Night 10k, Berlin. Germany, 31 July 2010. Men. 1 M Roba-Kinkal (Germany) 29:06; 3 P Wicks 29:25. Richmond Park parkrun 5k, 31 July 2010. Men. 1 J Flood (Stragglers) 16:53; 13 G Adams M40 19:45. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 31 July 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:24. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 31 July 2010. Men. 1 J Lock (Thames Turbo) 15:59; 2 M Trees M45 16:30; 4 R Stannard 16:57. Elmbridge 10k, 25 July 2010. Men. 1 B Raeside (Notts) 30:20; 5 W Cockerell 33:08; 18 M Byansi 34:45; 19 K Hegvold M45 34:52. Women. 1 S Amend 36:35. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 24 July 2010. Men. 1 M Bristow (Brighton &H) 16:38; 11 G Adams 19:32. Crystal Palace parkrun 5k, 24 July 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:35. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 24 July 2010. Men. 1 R Dessaix-Chin 15:05. Leeds Hyde Park parkrun 5k, 24 July 2010. Men. 1 A Wright 16:15. Real Runners 5k, Nonsuch Park, 22 July 2010. Men. 1 M Ashton (Aldershot F&D) 14:56; 6 W Cockerell 15:48. BUPA Great North 10k, Sunderland, 18 July 2010. Men. 1 E Kipkorir (Kenya) 28:54; 4 P Wicks 29:01; 8 R Dessaix-Chin 30:23. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 17 July 2010. Men. 1 N Anderson (E&H) 15:47; 2 W Cockerell 16:05; 6 K Hegvold M45 16:55. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 17 July 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:12. Standard Chartered 5k, City of London, 15 July 2010. Men. 1 P Wicks 14:07. Women. 1 E Adams (Aldershot F&D) 17:03; 3 S Amend 17:56. Pennine Lancs 5k inc. ERRA Champs., 10 July 2010. Men. 1 E Kipkorir (Kenya) 13:42; 15 S Jones 14:36. Hackney Marshes parkrun 5k, 10 July 2010. Men. 1 R Ward tkn. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 10 July 2010. Men. 1 C Blackburn (?) 16:57; 16 P Chapman 19:27; 63 Don Anderson M55 22:36. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 10 July 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:19; 3 M Trees M45 16:59. JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, Battersea Park, 8 July 2010. Men. 5.6k. 1 P Wicks 16:21. Self Transcendence 1 mile, Battersea Park, 5 July 2010. Men. 1 M Kiralyfi U20 4:36; 3 D Kiralyfi U20 4:59. Gold Coast Airport Half Marathon, Queensland, Australia, 4 July 2010. Men. 1 J Hunt 1:03:18; 2 M Dent 1:03:21. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 3 July 2010. Men. 1 M Trees M45 16:46; 29 P Chapman 18:56. Kingston parkrun 5k, 3 July 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:11. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 3 July 2010. Men. 1 J Trapmore (Shaftesbury BH) 16:18; 20 T O'Neill M55 19:53. Dave Davies 4 x 2 miles Nonsuch Relay, Nonsuch Park, 1 July 2010. Men. 1 Belgrave 38:31; 2 Epsom & Ewell H 39:16; 3 Legal & General 39:31. W Cockerell (1) 9:34; M Kiralyfi (1) 9:10; M Byansi (1) 9:58; R Dessaix-Chinn (1) 9:49. Running for Sutton Runners R Harding 11:17. Fastest: K Quinn (Sutton R) 8:49. Thame CPM 10k, 27 June 2010. Women. 1 S Amend 37:16. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 26 June 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:52; 24 E Smith 19:53. Kingston parkrun 5k, 26 June 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:52. Richmond 10k, Ham, 20 June 2010. Men. 1 P Martelletti (VP&TH) 30:33; 35 K Hegvold M45 35:08; 297 D Woodgate M45 46:30. Women. S Amend 36:28; L Lucas W35 49:23. Bridgend Lions Festival of Running 5k, 19 June 2010. Men. 1 S Davies 14:49; 4 S Jones 15:04. Heaton Park parkrun 5k, 19 June 2010. Men. 1 P Freary 16:28. Barts & London 10k, 13 June 2010. Men. 1 P Martelletti (?) 31:43; 3 J Charles 34:00. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 12 June 2010. Men. 1 H Springall (Thames Turbo) 16:05; 4 M Trees M45 16:29. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 12 June 2010. Men. 1 M Morgan 17:40. Heaton Park parkrun 5k, 12 June 2010. Men. 1 P Freary M40 16:12. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 12 June 2010. Men. 1 D Alcock (Victoria P&TH) 16:38; 3 K Hegvold M45 16:57. Armager Fælled parkrun 5k, Copenhagen, Denmark, 12 June 2010. Men. 1 M Pekilidi (Sparta) 18:48; 4 P Chapman 19:12. Internationaler Neusser Sommernachtslauf, Neuss, Germany, 6 June 2010.Men. 6k. 1 A Kem (Poland) 16:59; 3 P Wicks 17:06. SBS Half Marathon, Christchurch, New Zealand, 6 June 2010. Men. 1 E McRae 1:04:59. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 5 June 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:21. Crystal Palace parkrun 5k, 5 June 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:34. Thames Hare & Hounds' Parkland 4 x 5km relay, Richmond Park, 2 June 2010. Summer Lovin’ – Bels and Thames slug it out to the wire Will Cockerell reports. A perfect early June night in glorious Richmond Park witnessed two auld enemies locking horns again; cementing their 120+ year friendship and rivalry the only way they know how: by trying to rip out each other’s kidneys. Belgrave sent a vintage quartet along for the joust. They may only have one head of hair between them, and are so long in the tooth in running terms that they’re practically growing tusks; but some quarter-of-a-million miles worth of running has to count for something, a gnarly, never-say-die spirit for one. And with over 40 years of club service between them, this was a band of brothers with the claret and gold flowing through their veins, albeit woven together from several different pockets of the world – such is Belgrave’s global reach. Anyway, on to the race, and what a race it was. Five minutes before the gun and no Mal Byansi – due to open the batting – still stuck at work. The team manager for the night, Will Cockerell, performed surgery on the running order and switched his role as anchor man with Mal. Will dove into his flats whilst a couple of flunkeys re-pinned a new race number to his vest. Dash to the start and bang went the gun. With a mind and body that was expecting to run in 45 minutes not 45 seconds, Will took a while to find his stride and was outside the top 5 for the first kilometre or so. Eventually things started to click and his Thames ‘oppo’ Toby Pearson was caught and passed, but every second counted and it was hang on to the leader time [a fine run from Chris Peach] for Will. At the change Peach had 28 seconds on Will who had a further 30 on Toby. Enter Paskar Owor, licking his wounds from a disastrous Inter-counties when he failed to progress from the heats, “PO” is also in BAL action on Saturday, so it was felt appropriate to give him the easiest leg here, and cruise round [whilst also doing as much damage to Thames’ Neil Chisholm as possible]. This he did (with the day’s fastest) and we were in the lead, and a further 61 seconds to the good, 91 in all over Thames. Stage three and the battle of the 13:42 and 14:40 5k men... the former belonging to our man the Trondheim Stallion, but the bad news is that it was 20 years ago. So it was damage limitation time for Knut as it was a question of how much the gap would come down by at the expense of James McMullan. James finally caught sight of Knut’s silhouette against the setting sun at the top of the long drag at 3k, and thereafter set upon his prey ferociously. With half a mile to go it seemed as though Knut would be caught, but he dug in and handed over to the now arrived Mal with seven precious seconds to play with. Simon Molden is not the sort of man you want chasing you after a 9-hour shift on your feet all day at work and a ‘jumpy’ knee. They came together after half a mile and then proceeded to stay that way for the next 2¼ miles, with both men constantly trying to break the other. It was riveting stuff, and up the ascent 600 yards from home, some daylight finally appeared at Mal’s expense. Could Mal hang on and unleash that famous Byansi kick? Alas no, the gap grew inch by inch till it became unmanageable and instead of kicking, Mal trotted in, totally spent, after one of his bravest ever Belgrave runs. So there it is, the bitter sting of defeat, and yet... when it’s handed to you with that suave, Thames oily charm, in such an idyllic setting, the pain is somewhat numbed. Congrats and thanks to our hosts for putting on a great show; occasions like this are what grassroots, club athletics is all about, as I’m sure the 64 teams, men/women/young and old that partook would agree. 1 Thames Hare and Hounds 65:07; 2 Belgrave 65:18 (W Cockerell 16:06; P Owor 15:33; K Hegvold 17:05; M Byansi 16:34); 3 Nottingham Old Boys 66:07. Fastest: 1 P Owor (Belgrave H) 15:33; 2 C Peach (Nottingham Old Boys) 15:38; 3 J McMullan (Thames H and H) 15:41. BUPA London 10k, 31 May 2010. Men. 1 M Farah (Newham &EB) 27:44; 5 P Wicks 29:08. Women: 1 M Keitany (Kenya) 31:05; 4 G Tamirat 34:53. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 29 May 2010. Men. 1 J Trapmore (Shaftesbury B) 16:07; 2 R Stannard 16:18; 3 W Cockerell 16:20; 4 M Trees M45 (time not known). Greenwich Park parkrun 5k, 29 May 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:42. Dorking 10 miles, 23 May 2010. Men. 1 S Wurr (Thames H&H) 55:23; 26 W Lynch M40 1:03:37; 214 D Woodgate M40 1:22:45. Women. 1 L Kipling (Ranelagh) 1:02:55; E Lucas 1:31:07. South London 10k, Wimbledon Common, 23 May 2010. Men. 1 A Robinson (Thames H&H) 35:10; 2 K Hegvold M45 36:19. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 22 May 2010. Men. 1 C Scott (?) 17:15; 21 P Chapman 19:20. Greenwich parkrun 5k, 22 May 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:44. Heaton Park parkrun 5k, 22 May 2010. Men. 1 P Freary 16:26. BUPA Great Manchester Run 10k, 16 May 2010. Men. 1 H Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) 28:02; 29 D Anderson 31:00. Richmond Half Marathon, 16 May 2010. Women. 1 B Penty (Highgate) 1:19:10; 13 V Goodwin 1:32:50. New South Wales Half Marathon Champs., Sydney, Australia, 16 May 2010. Men. 1 M Dent 1:04:28; 3 R Dessaix-Chin 1:07:15. Bushy Park parkrun, 15 May 2010. Men. 1 W Cockerell 16:23. Banstead Woods parkrun, 15 May 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:53. Half Marathon, Geneva, 9 May 2010. Women. 11 V Goodwin 1:29:10. Bristol 10k inc. ERRA Champs., 9 May 2010. Men. 1 G Muji (Kenya) 28:29; 6 P Wicks 29:16. Women. 1 E Chelimo 32:53; 5 G Tamirate 34:12. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 8 May 2010. Men. 1 A Mercer (Thames Turbo) 16:47; 3 K Hegvold M45 16:57. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 8 May 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:37. Sutton 10k, Wallington, 3 May 2010. Men. 1 H Raidi 32:39. Sydney:10, 10k, Sydney Australia, 3 May 2010. Men. 1 R Dessaix-Chin 29:57. Virgin London Marathon, 25 April 2010. Men. 55 H Sengers 2:29:38; J Blanco 2:34:17; 130 M Byansi 2:37:31; 200 J Kelly 2:40:48; 402 W Lynch 2:48:51; 451 J Aranburu 2:50:08; 540 J Charles 2:52:16; 773, B Hurley 2:56:25; 860 M Kazimierski 2:57:36; 4850 D Woodgate 3:37:28; 6248 P Cross M50 3:46:44; 21134 C Moynihan 5:19:56. Women. 6 S Amend 2:47:01; 62 S Murphy 3:03:38; 685 M Noel W45 3:34:51; 26774 L Lucas 4:38:21. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 24 April 2010. Men. 1 A Robinson (Thames H&H) 16:39; 10 P Chapman 18:55. Finsbury parkrun 5k, 24 April 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 16:40. Newham Classic 10k, 18 April 2010. Men. 1 B Powell (Woodford GwEL) 31:45; 2 H Raidi 32:06; 6 J Kimaiyo 34:32. ERRA National 12-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Coldfield, 17 April 2010.
Looking for a miracle ... Alan Mead reports If 2009 saw absolutely everything fall perfectly into place, resulting in a club record for the course and the fastest time by any team this century, 2010 was somewhat different. Troubles began back in March when Stephen Sharp and Nick Goolab booked warm weather training in Portugal, carefully avoiding the date of the race as shown in the UKA fixture list. Unfortunately the UKA list was wrong and the dynamic duo’s holiday dates actually clashed with the race! It was inconceivable that we go into the race without them so after much expensive reorganizing of flights and accommodation they were back in the team … until Iceland, having failed to shut down the UK with “cod wars” and dodgy investments, unleashed the fury of Eyjafjallajoekull on the British nation. Now that’s an excuse that doesn’t even feature in the legendary Phil Carstairs’ tome Reasons For Not Being Available To Race… “unable to get to the event as all UK air space closed due to volcanic ash in the atmosphere”. With our Aussies back down under, Steve Davies on his honeymoon, Jonathan Blackledge short of training and all sorts of injuries and semi-retirements affecting the rest of the crew there were some desperate phone calls still going on as the team gathered for the race; and yet wild hopes were still entertained that by some miracle our running wounded would be able to raise their game to an extraordinary level and we could make the podium for a tenth successive year.
Above. Left: Great to see David Anderson back on the roads of Sutton Park - even if he wasn't happy with his run. Centre: After three months of injury an unfit Simon Jones added his talent to the team. Right: "Milesy the Magnificent". A few weeks running - and 12th fastest short stage of the day was posted by Mark Miles. Photos by Alan Mead. Called into the squad Will Cockerell was switched to opening long stage on Friday night – and if he came in a tin, the label on the outside would read, “finished in about 28 minutes”. We got exactly what we expected from the Cockerpillar: 28:08 and 33rd. The field was led by Altrincham and Morpeth, both expected to come back, while among our expected rivals for medals Leeds were 23rd, AFD’s Lindsay overcame an injury out on the course to limp home 25th and Bedford were handed the task of fighting back from 41st. Also called into the squad on Friday, Hassan Raidi gained two spots on the volatile first short stage as Notts AC took over at the head of the procession. We were just about 2 minutes behind favourites Newham & Essex Beagles as David Anderson went into action. Making a big impression these days as a triathlete, DA gets by on less than a half of the running he used to do but he was well excited about being back in the relay team. Ten minutes later with lungs gasping and legs burning he knew he’d gone off much too fast and was desperately scanning the horizon for the gate that marks the turning point at the far end of the course: “it must come into sight soon, it must”. David was half a minute slower than he expected but we were up ten places and among the biggest risers of the lap. Biggest riser by far was Bedford’s Neilson Hall who tore past 23 men. Scots Shettleston Harriers were 18 seconds clear in the lead. Yet another late call-up was Richard Ward, initially overlooked in spite of pipping two rivals the previous weekend in a parkrun 5k. Back in 2004 Rich ran 14:26 at Sutton Park and although generally settling for a lower standard of fitness has now nine times worked his way into the dozen – but he won’t like his clocking for this run when it shows up in the all-time stats. No places lost though, although some ominous gaps were opening up. They breed ‘em tough in Boston. James Kelly had spent the previous few weeks working out in a swimming pool as a stress fracture had his team place in doubt. With a week to go his doctor said that he could run on it and although it might hurt, no more damage would occur. Of course Doc had no idea that “running” would interpreted as a 5 mile time trial followed by a burn-up in a National championship! In fact Jim was in some pain, particularly when it came to running downhill. As the finish line was crossed, he sank to his knees and Simon Jones was sent away. Still we were in 21st. Injury problems ran deep Our injury problems ran deep. Simon had been suffering for three months with a severe pain in his heel. He too had been in the pool until he’d begun to grow fins. He’d run in a local relay the previous week to see if he was in any sort of shape to assist the Bels and had finished that race disappointed and aching with a time of approximately 15:30 for 5k. Again, subsequent medical advice decreed that although further running would be very uncomfortable, the injury was healing and exercise would help disperse scar tissue. Another hero: he offered himself for a short stage and we moved up to 20th. Now unlike the foregoing, Paskar Owor is as fit as a butcher’s dog and has had some good races during the winter, but there was no firework display for the Bels on stage 7. Paskar did gain four places but now 16th and with miracles in short supply, not to mention a few more runners to come who were not at their best, it looked as if even a top ten placing would be a struggle. We had to face the fact that we weren’t going to be able to get into the hardware. But as dreams of a medal disappeared, so did the pressure, and spirits remained high as ‘Milesy’ set out on an unaccustomed short stage. Mark Miles and Gemma have both been ill over the winter with Gemma still not back to running. Milesy had managed to string together a few weeks of action and was prepared to turn out to help the team. The result was an amazing 14:37 for 12th best on the day. Wonderful! But such were the gaps that our colours were carried forward no more than two further positions – to 14th. This was some struggle.
Above. Left: Mark Pollard was fourth fastest on stage 10 and closed on the teams ahead. Right: Fastest man in the 2009 race but this year short of training after injury, it was probably Phil Wicks' hardest ever relay run for the least gain - one place. Photos by Alan Mead. Fourth best on a loaded stage One man with no problems – other than he’d really have preferred to race over the three mile circuit – was Dan Mulhare. Dan was fourth best on a loaded stage and gained five places. Like Mark, he too would end up as 12th best of the day but among the long stage men. At last things were beginning to look respectable. We were 9th but 46 seconds behind 8th and 2 minutes 47 seconds behind 7th. Faster than most of those ahead, Mark Pollard was fourth best on stage 10. He took the Bels to within 11 seconds of Cardiff in 8th, leaving Phil Wicks with one man in sight to pursue. Phil quickly put the blue vested Cardiff man behind him and then worked oh! so hard to close the gap. Fastest man in the 2009 race but this year short of training after injury, it was probably Phil's hardest ever relay run for the least gain - one place! Swansea Harriers, in 7th, were all but two minutes up the road after Phil’s stint. Not much Captain Neil Speaight could do about that. Neil had had several weeks off after his recently announced retirement from track athletics and a knee injury also hampered his preparations, but in spite of a lonely run to anchor the team he became our sixth consecutive man to feature in the top ten on his stage. A final eighth place wasn't so bad bearing everything in mind. It was quite remarkable that among the long stages we had only two men inside the top fifty times and in the short stage list just one! And yet there we were 8th team overall. A texting Paul Freary summed up ... no medals but, "ten years in the top ten and the best team of the decade." There'll be many more good days to come. 1 Newham &EB 4:09:12; 2 Tipton H 4:11:26; 3 Shettleston 4:12:01; 4 Aldershot F&D 4:12:41; 5 Leeds City 4:13:58; 6 Bristol &W 4:14:15; … 8 Belgrave 4:16:43; 71 teams started and 62 teams finished. Belgrave: W Cockerell (team position 33, stage ranking 33, overall ranking =109) 28:08; H Raidi (31, 26, =83) 15:29; D Anderson (21, 13, =82) 27:36; R Ward (21, 27, 149) 16:12; J Kelly (21, =19, =114) 28:14; S Jones (20, 13, =77) 15:24; P Owor (16, 9, =71) 27:28; M Miles (14, 2, 12) 14:37; D Mulhare (9, 4, =12) 26:14; M Pollard (9, 4, =63) 15:18; P Wicks (8, 3, 38) 26:54; N Speaight (8, 6, 53) 15:09. Fastest of all short stages: 1 B Raeside (Notts) 14:01; 2 J Mellor (Liverpool) 14:10; 3 B Moreau (Aldershot F&D) 14:18 … 12 M Miles 14:37. Fastest of all long stages: 1 M Geele (Newham &EB ) 25:37; 2 N Hall (Bedford &C) 25:59; 3 M Barnes (Altrincham) 26:02; … =12 D Mulhare 26:14. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 17 April 2010. Men. 1 D Symons (Thames H&H) 16:50; 2 K Hegvold M45 17:03. Reading parkrun 5k, 17 April 2010. Men. 1 M Trees M45 16:55. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 17 April 2010. Men. 1 M Kazimierski 18:21. Kingston Breakfast Run 16 miles April 2010. Men. 1 B Wilder (Herne Hill) 1:27:24; 3 M Byansi 1:32:23. Women. 1 S Amend 1:38:40. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 10 April 2010. Well, it was dramatic ... Rich Stannard turned up for a jog, nursing a strained groin, and spotting Will Cockerell looking to gun him down, inwardly groaned and considered pulling out before accepting the challenge. The Cockerpillar himself was shaking off a cold but feeling he could give Stannard a fright+; and then Wardy entered the arena, sniffing a way into the 12-stage team, while young Max Kiralyfi was keen to blow all the old codgers away. At halfway the Cockerpillar was down in 6th while just 30 yards up was a four way tie for the lead including Kiralyfi, Stannard and Ward. 1.5k to go and 'C' moved into 5th, saw that Max was struggling and took him too. Next up for the chop was Stannard who was overtaken with 400 to go ... and there was Wardy just 6 yards away! But Richard Stannard didn't like being taken out one bit and roared back to go after Wardy himself. 300 to go and the latter tossed back an arrogant, imperious glance and did what he does best ... kicked like a mule. Men. 1 J Ellis (Clapham C) 15:58; 2 R Ward 16:01; 3 R Stannard 16:03; 4 W Cockerell 16:05; 6 M Kiralyfi 16:24; 43 P Chapman 18:45. South Manchester parkrun 5k, 3 April 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:02. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 3 April 2010. Men. 1 G Martin (Clapham) 18:22; 27 G Adams 21:22. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 3 April 2010. Men. 1 unknown 16:23; 2 R Stannard 16:43. Maidenhead 10 miles, 2 April 2010. Men. 1 J Hutchins (Basingstoke &MH) 51:17; 29 B Hurley 56:51; 49 M Trees M45 58:43. Wilmslow Half Marathon inc. ERRA Championship, 28 March 2010. Men. 1 A Jones (Salford) 1:04:46; 28 W Cockerell 1:11:56. Hyde Park 10k, 28 March 2010. Men. 1 P Martelletti (Victoria P&TH) 32:10; 3 H Raidi 33:42; 5 J Kimaiyo 34:58. Victoria Park 5 miles, 27 March 2010. Men. 1 M Geele (Newham &EB) 22:45; 5 P Owor 24:43; 14 H Raidi 25:56; 26 M Byansi 26:53. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 27 March 2010. Men. 1 N Gamester (Shaftesbury BH) 14:58; 51 R Stannard 20:14. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 27 March 2010. Men. 1 A Robinson 16:47; 7 K Hegvold M45 17:51; 22 G Adams M40 19:45; 110 Don Anderson M50 26:20. Reading parkrun 5k, 27 March 2010. Men. 1 M Trees M45 17:53. Reading Half Marathon, 21 March 2010. Women. 1 S Partridge (Leeds) 1:12:47; 8 S Amend 1:19:22; 12 S Murphy 1:22:34. Kingston 10k, 21 March 2010. Men. 1 H Raidi 33:07.
Above, left to right: Hoping for a good marathon debut, James Kelly. A sight for sore eyes, cross country international David Anderson re-enters the road running scene after becoming an elite triathlete. Nick Goolab - a scorcher on last leg. Only three weeks running behind him after injury and Phil Wicks ran our third fastest short stage of all time. Photos by Steve Wicks. SEAA Men's 12-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 21 March 2010. Bob’s Beagles Brutally Batter Becalmed Bels Guest reporter Will Cockerell writes: Epic medal streak Belgrave extended their medal streak in this race to 12, which appears to be some sort of club record for us in a major championship. Our next best, it seems, was medalling either side of World War II in the National 12-stage between 1932-1949, for a streak of 11 races. Kicking off on leg 1 was a focussed Sharpy, running his 35th consecutive road relay for the Bels, an astonishing achievement, but one feels he’s only going to really savour it in his pipe and slippers. For now, it’s all business, fire and brimstone and he arrived at the finish muttering in disgust at his inadequacies. He needn’t have – 5th place, 10 seconds quicker than last year with runners neatly lined up ahead for James Fairbourn to have a pop at. James also improved a fair bit from last year and climbed us up a spot on the leaderboard. Over to Paskar Owor who has served the cross-country section well this term, and he chased hard around the lake to bring us into the medals. “I’d’ve got close to that!” Richard Stannard is becoming fitter by the week and too long he has been on the cusp of our relay teams. He’s just the sort of man you want: unflappable, cool, experienced and rippling with muscles to unnerve the opposition. Rich’s tasty 17.18 brought us up to silver. We had a gap over Aldershot in 3rd of 9 seconds, as the Cockerpillar set out. His AFD opponent was Neil Phillips who placed 122 positions higher than our man at the National cross, so when Phillips stormed by after a kilometre it was damage limitation time. He didn’t get away though and Will even nicked him back at the end. Obviously Philips had a problem though as both times were off-colour, which had Will complaining that he’d been ‘sucker-punched into a go-slow’. Lander Eguia and Mal Byansi were almost too close to call for the final team spot. Lander got the call in the end by his superb turn at the Surrey county champs where he duffed up Mal by over two minutes. Lander ran nicely to form with 18:02, to which Mal was heard to riposte in playful tone, “I’d’ve got close to that!” Indeed he would, and his 26.09 opener for the B’s shows that Mal has run himself into fitness, but he just left it too late for this one. Right, half-way and Bobby Boucher’s Aldershot were showing us the way by 45 seconds in silver, with Newham already long gone. Step up Polly who is not quite at his best over the long stages, he really excels as a short-stage master-blaster (as in his memorable debut for us at Sutton Park in ’07). But he’s tough as old boots, and had a fine duel with Steve Connor who could only extend AFD’s advantage by a mere one tick of the clock. Return of the Animal The animal was back! For some this was the most pleasing sight of the day seeing the inspirational ‘Danders’ back in the claret and gold. He has found his running again through triathlon and his relay stats before this race were played 16, won 14. Add to that National team half-marathon and 10k titles and you have one of the most potent Belgravians of all time. David ran very nicely here for a fine 16:54 just over a minute off his mind-boggling 15:51 from 2003. Nine seconds had been clawed back on AFD. What could JK do about the remaining 37? Well he couldn’t, but only 4 seconds were leaked. Jim has bulked up a bit since he became a marathoner and the glide has slightly gone from his stride. That, he is learning, is the deal with the devil one must make when stepping up to the epic distance. Since the race Jim has come down with shin splints which is a darn shame and we all hope this is a mere blip in what could be an excellent marathon career, with the 2.20 barrier hopefully negotiated several times over the coming decade. Stunning Trio In a monk-like piece of self-restraint and denial, the team manager had kept our three biggest guns for last – perhaps they could do something about the nagging AFD problem. Boy, could they ever! Wicksy, Dan and Nicky-boy proceeded to rip 4 mins and 39 seconds out of our Hampshire friends, to turn a 41 second deficit into a 3:58 advantage. Some going. In fact 17 seconds were even taken out of Newham in this last quarter, but that record-breaking ship had long disappeared from view. It was great to see Phil back – what a stunning run off very little training, long may his recovery continue. Dan fired in an immaculate stage fastest 24:05 on the graveyard shift, and Nick was fine and dandy in isolation on anchor, with 4th fastest of the day. Many congrats to Newham on their fine showing; with a performance like that one wonders how this could be their first ever triumph at MK. A certain Mr Farah was a key ingredient as he relieved Keith Cullen of his long-standing course record. Hopefully we can get closer to them at the National, we shall certainly try. The day closed with the presentation of a large card to Alan congratulating him on his [first] 15 years as Belgrave TM. It had details of the 54 major titles he has led us to in that time. Musn’t grumble. 1 Newham & Essex Beagles 4:07:04 (record); 2 Belgrave H 4:12:43; 3 Aldershot, Farnham & Dist. AC 4:16:41; 4 Bedford & County AC 4:23:30; 5 Woodford Green w Essex Ladies AC 4:25:04; 6 Herne Hill H 4:27:29; 37 teams started, 28 teams finished. Belgrave ‘A’. S Sharp 24:35 (5); J Fairbourn (4) 17:51; P Owor (3) 24:48; R Stannard (2) 17:18; W Cockerell (2) 26:15; L Eguia (3) 18:02; M Pollard (3) 25:22; D Anderson (3) 16:54; J Kelly (3) 24:58; P Wicks (2) 16:06; D Mulhare (2) 24:05; N Goolab (2) 16:29. Belgrave ‘B’. M Byansi (21) 26:09; M Trees M45 (20) 18:23; J Kimaiyo (15) 26:32; R Norville (20) 19:41; K Hegvold M45 (21) 28:14; T Thorn (26) 22:33; M Whiting (24) 28:35; 8 R Harding M45 (13) 21:30; P Marsh M55 (26) 31:36. Fastest short stages (5,506m): 1 M Farah (NEB) 15:46 (record); 2 P Wicks (Belgrave H) 16:06; 3 M Warmby (Newham &EB) 16:13. Fastest long stages (7,978m): 1 M Geele (NEB) 23:50; 2 D Mulhare (Belgrave H) 24:05; 3 M Goose (CoNAC) 24:08. SEAA Women's 6-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 21 March 2010. The Future’s Bright For Patchwork Belles
So, to those who are currently in the wings, take your time and then come and join the party; and for those that toed the line yesterday, huge thanks and bouquets all round. Check this out for a team: the jet-setter (Vicki flying in from Geneva an hour before kick-off, and then flying straight back out); the purist race-walker Maureen; super-vet triathlete Anne; convalescing from laser eye surgery Jen; coming off a heavy cold Tilly; and then the small matter of Sam, who’d romped to a top ten finish in the Reading Half-Marathon three hours earlier. Gulp – these ponies could be cruising for a bruising. But not a bit of it! On stage one, full of one-hit-wonders, Vicki dug in and set up the race for us. Maureen then nibbled a pip up the leaderboard for a job well done. Anne ran beautifully to take out three more, before a less than her fittest Jen leaked just a single place. Time to wheel out the heavies. Tilly, a veteran of our teams for some 10 years, set about the opposition before somehow contriving to turn right instead of left, 2k from home, in a flagrant attempt to pad out the old training diary. After a few hundred yards of being on the road to nowhere fast, she set about correcting her error, but by the time she’d rejoined the course, some two minutes was down the 'swanny'. However, this all set up new Belle Sam Amend a treat, who hungrily devoured five of her prey before, much to her chagrin, running out of road. How she’d love to have pattered along for another hour or so. So, there it is, a heart-warming 11th. Yes, the standard was somewhat lower this year, and big guns like Aldershot gave the race a miss almost entirely (save for honorary Belle Emily Adams, fiancée of Phil, who ran a stormer); but if our opponents can point to factors that held them back, then so, most certainly, can we. The National is next, runners are waiting hungrily in the wings, in particular the Smurph, so let’s keep this momentum going. 1 Bedford & County AC 2:00:44; 2 Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow AC 2:05:43; 3 Marshall Milton Keynes AC 2:08:15; … 11 Belgrave H 2:19:57; 25 teams started, 18 teams finished. Belgrave: V Goodwin (19) 22:44; M Noel (18) 24:03; A Hegvold (15) 21:11; J Beecroft (16) 26:55; T Heaton (16) 24:20; S Amend (11) 20:44. Fastest: S Morris (WSEH) 18:53; 2 E Adams (AFD) 19:08; R Gibbs (Bedford and County) 19:18. Wimbledon Audi 10k, 14 March 2010. Men. 1 H Raidi 33:14. Hague Half Marathon, Netherlands, 14 March 2010. Women. 1 P Wangui (Kenya) 1:10:36; 9 S Amend 1:18:44. McCain World Trials and Intercounties Champs., Cofton Park, Birmingham, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 M Farah (Newham &EB) 34:41; 2 A Vernon (Hants/Aldershot F&D) 35:25; 3 M Geele (Newham &EB) 35:40; 38 P Owor (Surrey/Bel) 37:26; 53 J Kelly (Surrey/Bel) 37:46. Teams: 1 Lancs 200; 5 Surrey 419. Women. 1 F Murray (Scot E) 27:21; 2 S Twell (Hants/Aldershot F&D) 27:30; 3 F Fullerton (Essex/Havering) 27:41; 58 S Murphy (Surrey/Bel) 30:46. Teams: 1 North East 154; 5 Surrey 286. Cardiff parkrun 5k, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 S Davies 14:49. Heaton parkrun 5k, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 P Freary 16:17. Greenwich parkrun 5k, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:36. Reading parkrun 5k, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 L Eguia 17:25; 2 M Trees M45 18:15. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 R Franks (St. Marys) 15:57; 2 R Stannard 16:08. Richmond Park parkrun 5k, 13 March 2010. Men. 1 A Vandenburg (Herc/Wimb) 16:54; 13 P Chapman 19:23. Clapham Common 5k, 9 March 2010. Men. 1 J Templeman (?) 17:29; 2 R Norville 18:10. London Heathside 5 miles, Finsbury Park, 7 March 2010. Men. 1 P Owor 25:45; 2 H Raidi 26:37. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 6 March 2010. Men. 1 M Blomhoff (Holm) 16:30; 4 K Hegvold M45 17:41. Bushy parkrun 5k, 6 March 2010. Men. 1 M Skinner (Blackheath &BH) 14:46; 4 R Stannard 15:54; 9 M Trees 17:30. Edinburgh parkrun 5k, 6 March 2010. Men. 1 R Inglis (Lothian) 16:11; 30 P Chapman 19:13. Goring 10k, 28 February 2010. Men. 1 M Osbourne (Oxford Uni) 34:09; 16 M Whiting 38:14. Women. 1 S Amend 38:52. ECCA National Cross Country Champs., Roundhay Park, Leeds, 27 February 2010. We came, we saw, we got up hill 60 Will Cockerell guest reports ... At this most scenic of venues, an intrepid band of 15 or so Belgravians made the long trip to glorious Roundhay Park, Leeds, to do battle in this most fiercely contested of club races. We were minus Alan who was keeping Pat company, but as a serviceable swap got a fab four of W.R. Laws, both the Flanagans and Jonesy who fulfilled team manager duties with aplomb. It was wet, cold, miserable and muddy, and George and Anne were kind to put up their camping tent for us to lay near waste to, ahead of their camping holiday the following week. Onto the race, and we were minus talisman Wicksy for only the second time since he joined in ’05, which was a costly blow, but we still had some real talent on show. Dan Mulhare, all wrapped up like a peppermint patty against the elements, proceeded to have a rollicking run and fired in a four-under par 68 in golfing parlance; while JK scored a goal, and set up another, so to speak. Paskar got off to a flying start to reach his 50 off just 58 balls, but was then run-out when well set for 57. As for pretty Polly, not so pretty on this occasion. After lap 1 he all but stepped off the course in disgust, but somehow managed to persuade himself to stick it out for another lap before he’d definitely call it quits. However, when the time came an inspired piece of mathematical brilliance deduced that there was now only one lap to go, and the dead man running conspired to finish. Good lad! So, who to close us in after this sumptuous feast of international all-stars from Ireland, America, Uganda and Scotland? Well, nobody does the clinical, gnarly stuff of ‘task completion’ better than the English and here we had Fairbs and Cockers, who have become deadly enemies over all surfaces of late, enduring a race long duel. The latter had the former in his sights for the entire show, but credit to Jimbo, he held firm as both ran solidly to form. All this gave us a result of 7th in the nation, heart-warming stuff since we were missing a few, just ahead of bitter rivals and defending champs Newham. Finally, a special menche for the ‘baby-bees’ for making the long slog, who on this occasion were expertly played by Mal, Lander, evergreen Rob Harding and ever-present Donny-boy. A wonderful run from Nick Goolab A wonderful run came from Nick Goolab who retained his Under 20 Men's Cross Country Championship. He was very nervous beforehand but ended up only the sixth man in the history of the race to defend his title. Nick came home with a 16 second advantage over arch rival James Wilkinson of Leeds. Only Sarah Murphy was in action for the Belles but she had a cracking run to place 46th. Winner was Aldershot's Steph Twell. Men's 12k. A Vernon (Aldershot F&D) 38:01; 2 M Geele (Newham &EB) 38:10; 3 S Vernon (Stockport) 38:20; 16 D Mulhare 39:52; 41 J Kelly 40:47; 89 P Owor 42:15; 103 M Pollard 42:40; 153 J Fairbourn 43:40; 165 W Cockerell 43:52; 232 M Byansi 45:01; 290 L Eguia 45:58; 1008 R Harding M45 56:26; 1254 Don Anderson M55 1:01:44; dnf M Trees M45; 1428 finished. Teams: 1 Aldershot F&D 182; 2 Leeds City 208; 3 Bedford & County 291; 4 Coventry Godiva 309; 5 Woodford Green wEL 390; 6 Tipton 392; 7 Belgrave 567; 107 teams closed in. Under 20 Men's 10k. 1 N Goolab (Belgrave) 33:07; 2 J Wilkinson (Leeds City) 33:23; 3 B Norris (Notts) 33:29; 104 P Dolan 38:14; 204 finished. Teams: 1 Warrington 62; 2 Leeds City 107; 3 Aldershot F&D 130; 16 teams closed in. Senior Women's 8k. 1 S Twell (Aldershot F&D) 27:52; 2 S Stockton (Vale Royal) 28:07; 3 H Dean (Hallamshire) 28:12; 46 S Murphy 31:14; 543 finished. Teams: 1 Charnwood 73; 2 Aldershot F&D 99; 3 Bristol &W 134; 61 teams closed in. Cardiff parkrun 5k, 27 February 2010. Men. 1 S Davies 15:06. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 27 February 2010. Men. 1 M Chapman (SLH) 16:54; 2 R Ward 17:24. Richmond Park parkrun 5k, 27 February 2010. Women. 1 R Holmes (Ranelagh) 20:17; E Moll 26:39. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 27 February 2010. Men. 1 R Stannard 16:24. Armagh 5k, 25 February 2010. Men. 1 N McCormick (Morpeth) 13:58; 21 M Pollard 14:35; 30 J Kelly 14:45; dnf S Sharp. Brighton Half Marathon, 21 February 2010. Men. 1 D Wardle (Woodford Green wEL) 1:06:59; 1995 D McMillan M60 1:50:21. Below: ... a storming run from James Fairbourn
Silver medals in Surrey Cross Country Championships Alan Mead reports. Another fine performance from Sarah Murphy; she was fourth last year and occupied the same position in 2010 but this time was much closer to the medals. Dropping back a little in mid race, Sarah rallied towards the end and closed to within one second of the bronze medal as the final crest to the finish was reached. ― v ― Mike Trees was tipped off that he would probably be sixth scorer for the men's team and with a smile he took the hint: "Ok, I'll not go off at my normal pace then." One man who did start fast was Serpentine's Nick Torry, winner of the Metropolitan League the previous week. With a mile gone the first four runners were strung out with our own Paskar Owor in fourth but at the end of the opening lap Torry, McMullen (Thames) and Rogers (Aldershot) had come together with Paskar about 6 metres off the pace. Soon it was Rogers pushing on and then as the second circuit came to a close it was Torry stretching them out again with Paskar now in second but 10 metres adrift. He's come back before in these circumstances (chasing Michael Coleman at Coulsdon before Christmas) so hopes were high. All this time James Fairbourn was making waves, some 40 metres clear of Lander Eguia who was in turn putting pressure on Will Cockerell. Herne Hill seemed to be home and dry in the team stakes but the battle for the lesser medals was much less clear cut with Hercules Wimbledon AC, Thames and ourselves all in with a shout. "Runners in sight!" The call rang out around the finish area - and it was indeed Paskar, now clearly ahead. Somehow our man seemed intent on doing a fourth lap and as officials called out to put him right, Torry closed, but in the end he was safe enough. James had maintained his high position and had proved to be a key man for us - as was Lander, just two places behind and fighting off a desperate Cockerpillar. Mal Byansi was fifth man in and veteran Mike Trees' plan had proved well worth while for he finished strongly over the last lap and our hoped for set of medals proved to be "silvers". Nice work! It's been a bleak time for the men in the County Champs. - a series of seven incomplete teams being followed by 7th in 2006, and then 5th, 4th, 3rd and now 2nd. We missed Phil Wicks, winner for the past three years but troubled in 2010 by a knee injury. Second last year, James Kelly too was uncharacteristically absent, thinking ahead to the National race the following week; but Paskar's victory keeps the champion's cup in Belgrave hands and the streak now exceeds the run of Sweeney, Staines and Tadesse '95 to '97. As the Belgrave team made their way home the fun was not over for our team manager, who managed to persuade a very obliging Herne Hill outfit to push his car in an effort to get it started. Having won the team race they still had plenty left! Men's 12k. 1 P Owor (Belgrave) 40:15; 2 N Torry (Serpentine) 40:22; 3 P Rogers (Aldershot F&D) 40:38; 14 J Fairbourn 43:26; 16 L Eguia 43:41; 18 W Cockerell 43:50; 30 M Byansi 45:44; 37 M Trees M45 46:24; 58 R Norville 49:13; 108 finished. Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 87; 2 Belgrave H 116; 3 Hercules Wimbledon AC146; 4 Thames Hare & Hounds 154; 5 Epsom & Ewell H 250; 6 South London H 274; 8 teams closed in. Women's 8k. 1 S Morris (Windsor SE&H) 30:32; 2 L Kipling (Ranelagh H) 31:24; 3 K Ellison (Herne Hill H) 31:31; 4 S Murphy 31:32; 19 M Heaton 35:44; 68 finished. Teams: 1 Ranelagh H 63; 2 Herne Hill H 67; 3 Thames H&H 76; 7 teams closed in, the Belgrave team did not. Stewarts Scottish National Cross Country Champs., Callendar Park, Falkirk, 20 February 2010. Men. 1 A Hay (Central) 37:40; 5 D Mulhare 38:25; 19 M Pollard 40:05. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 20 February 2010. Men. 1 P Tulba (Basingstoke &MH) 16:03; 2 R Stannard 16:13. Heaton Park parkrun 5k, 20 February 2010. Men. 1 P Freary M40 16:35. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 20 February 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:31. Finsbury Park parkrun 5k, 20 February 2010. Men. 1 J Pickett (Lon. Heathside) 18:10; 7 P Chapman 19:50. 26.2 RRC Valentine's Day 10k, 14 February 2010. Men. 1 G Price (Shaftesbury B) 30:50; 8 M Morgan (Striders) 33:16; 21 M Webb 36:20. Women. 1 Y Grice (Bodyworks) 36:56; 3 S Amend 37:12. Seville Marathon, 14 February 2010. Women. 1 D Tadesse (Ethiopia) 2:34:53; 20 V Goodwin 3:12:09. Hampshire League, Salisbury, 13 February 2010. Men. 1 B Moreau (Aldershot F&D) 28:29; 21 M Kiralyfi U20 31:22. Bushy Park parkrun 5k, 13 February 2010. Men. 1 R Stannard 16:18. Banstead Woods parkrun 5k, 13 February 2010. Men. 1 R Ward 17:12. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 13 February 2010. Men. 1 J Thompson (?) 18:14; 22 P Chapman 20:02. Alsager 5 miles, 7 February 2010. Men. 1 N McCormick (Morpeth 23:33; 18 S Sharp 24:29; 29 S Moralee 25:27. Sweatshop Men's Surrey CC League, Newlands Corner nr. Guildford, 6 February 2010. 1 C Smith (Herne Hill) 25:39; 2 P Rogers (Reigate Priory) 25:42; 3 J McMullen (Thames H&H) 25:53; 4 O Edwards (Shaftesbury) 26:00; 5 P Owor (Belgrave) 26:03; 6 K Quinn (Herne H) 26:09; 8 J Kelly 26:15; 31 (scoring 30) R Stannard 27:46; 35 (33) L Eguia 27:55; 44 (39) B Hurley 28:25; 47 (41) P Dolan U20 28:38; 60 (47) K Hegvold M45 29:14; 71 (53) M Trees M45 29:29; 92 (68) M Webb M40 30:23; 118 (85) R Norville 32:11; 121 A Luce M40 32:26; 137 P Marsh M55 33:58; 162 H Corbett M50 38:54. Teams: 1 Herne Hill (1, 4, 6, 9, 15, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29) 167; 2 Thames H&H (3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 19, 22, 31, 35, 36) 188; 3 Hercules Wimbledon (11, 16, 27, 37, 43, 44, 49, 50, 56, 57) 390; 4 Belgrave (5, 8, 30, 33, 39, 41, 47, 53, 68, 85) 409; 5 Reigate Priory (2, 17, 23, 45, 51, 55, 61, 64, 70, 90) 478; 6 Ranelagh (20, 32, 42, 59, 66, 69, 71, 74, 76, 77) 586; 7 Epsom & Ewell (18, 21, 34, 40, 60, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89) 607; 8 Guildford & Godalming (14, 38, 52, 58, 62, 67, 72, 80, 82, 83) 608; 9 South London (46, 48, 54, 63, 65, 73, 75, 78, 79, 81) 662. Final league positions: 1 Thames H&H 763; 2 Herne Hill 809; 3 Belgrave 1742; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 1948; 5 Reigate Priory 1958; 6 South London 2020; 7 Epsom & Ewell 2296; 8 Guildford & Godalming 2352; 9 Ranelagh 2492. Surrey Women's CC League, Wimbledon Common, 6 February 2010. 1 J Bleasdale (Thames H&H) 27:16; 2 F Clark (Reigate Priory) 28:36; 3 K Ellison (Herne Hill) 29:18; 7 S Murphy 29:52; 24 T Heaton 32:12; 36 A Hegvold W40 32:42; 39 V Goodwin 32:53; 91 C Eastham 36:31. Teams: 1 Thames H&H 61; 2 Herne Hill 96; 3 Reigate Priory 131; 4 Dulwich R 165; 5 Ranelagh H 167; 6 Belgrave 197. Final league positions: 1 Thames H&H 395; 2 South London 534; 3 Herne Hill 569; 4 Ranelagh 607; 5 Reigate Priory 685; 6 Belgrave 851; 7 Stragglers 901; 8 Dorking &MV 982; 9 Wimbledon W 996; 10 West 4 1033. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 6 February 2010. Men. 1 M Furber (Crawley) 16:54; 2 W Cockerell 16:56; 20 P Chapman 20:21. British Universities Cross Country Champs., Stirling, 6 February 2010. Men. 1 A Vernon (St Mary's) 34:32; 2 N Goolab (Birmingham) 34:58; 6 D Mulhare (Stirling) 35:17; 19 J Blackledge (Oxford Brookes) 36:14. Scottish 4k Cross Country Champs, Glasgow, 31 January 2010. Men. 1 D Mulhare 11:15; 6 M Pollard 11:49. SEAA Cross Country Champs., Parliament Hill, 30 January 2010. Men. 1 N Hall (Bedford &C) 50:57; 2 J Pepper (Enfield &H) 51:08; 3 K Heywood (Bideford) 51:39; ... 25 J Kelly 53:57; 46 P Owor 55:34; 89 W Cockerell 58:12; 133 R Stannard 59:40; 428 M Trees M45 69:14. Teams: (unofficial) 1 Bedford &C; 2 Aldershot F&D ; 3 Woodford Green wEL. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 30 January 2010. Men. 1 A Vandenburg (Hercules Wimb.) 17:01; 8 R Norville 19:03; 23 P Chapman 20:43; 72 D Anderson M50 24:01. Bridges Handicap, Battersea, 26 January 2010. Mixed. 1 Jamie Stephenson 18:02 (12th fastest); 2 Steve Rawlinson 18:36 (13); Sarah 18:49 (14); Mick 19:52 (15); Ben Hurley 13:33; (1); Ed Smith 15:27 (7); Yannis Fitsakis 15:08 (5); Helen Smethurst 16:42 (9); Irene 17:23 (11); Bruce Barton 14:48 (3); Charlie Dickinson 16:21 (8); Will Cockerell 13:42 (2); Claire Arnott 20:24 (16); Cathal 15:03 (4); Robert Norville 15:22 (6); Stephen Harrison 17:15 (10). Garons 10k, France, 24 January 2010. Men. 1 V Goodwin 40:16. Middlesex CC Champs., Ruislip, 23 January 2010. Men's 12k. 1 S Sharp 42:01. Under 20 Men's 8k. 1 M Solomon (L Heathside) 28:03; 3 M Kiralyfi 29:09; 6 D Kiralyfi 29:46. McCain Cross Challenge, Antrim, Ireland, 23 January 2010. Men. 1 M Kiegen (Kenya) 27:49; 10 M Mulhare 30:01; 14 D Mulhare 30:21. Heaton parkrun 5k, 23 January 2010. Men. 1 A Buttery (Rossendale) 16:39; 2 P Freary M40 16:43. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 23 January 2010. Men. 1 S Wurr (Thames H&H) 16:17; 42 P Chapman 21:36. Bushy parkrun 5k, 23 January 2010. Men. 1 A Robinson (Herc. Wimb) 16:12; 2 R Stannard 16:25. KPMG Invitation Road Mile, Bermuda, 17 January 2010. Men. 1 S Biwott (Kenya) 4:11.4; 2 N Speaight 4:12.8. Dartford 10 miles, 17 January 2010. Men. F Neuschwander (Germany) 51:29; 3 H Raidi 54:32. Australian CC Champs., Brimbank Park, Victoria, 17 January 2010. Men. 1 C Birmingham 36:50; 6 R Dessaix-Chin 37:39. McCain UK Cross Challenge, Cardiff, 17 January 2010. Men. 1 A Vernon (Aldershot F&D) 28:12; 14 J Kelly 29:56. Veterans AC CC Champ, Wimbledon Common, 16 January 2010. Men. 1 P Glynn (Hercules Wimb) 33:02; 21 C Dickenson 1-M60 37:37; 25 P Marsh 2-M55 38:10; 56 H Corbett M50 44:42. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 16 January 2010. Men. 1 E O'Connell (Serp) 17:47; 9 S Ryan 19:10. BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, 9 January 2010. Men's 9k. 1 J Ebuya (Kenya) 28:41; 13 D Mulhare 31:18. Men's 4.2k. 1 R Stevenson (New Marske) 13:20; 15 S Moralee 14:48; 18 M Pollard 15:07. Woodbank parkrun 5k, 3 January 2010. Men. 1 K Fowler (Staffs Moorlands) 16:54; 2 R Ward 17:27. Lauriston/Hercules Wimb. 5 miles multi-terrain, Wimbledon Common, 2 January 2010. 1 K Quinn (HHH) 25:40; 4 W Cockerell 27:00; 7 K Hegvold M45 28:18; 29 A Hegvold W40 1-female 32:47. Roundshaw Downs parkrun 5k, 2 January 2010. Men. 1 M Morgan 17:30. Wimbledon Common parkrun 5k, 2 January 2010. Men. 1 A Robinson (Thames H&H) 17:42; 60 D Anderson M50 23:23. |
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Will
Cockerell reports: Some teams are assembled seamlessly, others
need to be patched together by a beg, a steal and a borrow. The
latter was the case on this occasion as the 2010 Southern Belles
were battling against injuries to key personnel, a spate of
competing races, and yes, a startling baby-boom. The Milton Keynes
side for 2030 is practically writing itself.
Surrey
County Cross Country Championships, Lloyd Park, 20 February 2010.